■LIFE INSURANCE
Samsung sets IPO record
Samsung Life Insurance shares jumped nearly 9 percent in their first day of trading in South Korea after a US$4.3 billion initial public offering that set a record as the country’s largest. The shares opened yesterday at 119,500 won, 8.6 percent above the IPO price of 110,000 won. They later surrendered some of those gains to trade at 114,500 won. A total of 44,437,420 shares were offered to the public with a value of about 4.9 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) at the IPO price. That far exceeded the previous record IPO by Korea Life Insurance earlier this year of 1.78 trillion won.
■STEEL
ThyssenKrupp back in black
German steel maker ThyssenKrupp AG says it returned to profitability in the second quarter due to a rise in demand and cost-cutting measures. The Duesseldorf company said yesterday that earnings before taxes rose by 497 million euros (US$631.1 million) to 206 million euros in the three months through March, its fiscal second quarter. No net profit figures were released. Sales increased 3 percent to 10.1 billion euros, while order intake increased 36 percent to 10.4 billion euros.
■MEDIA
Games unit boosts Vivendi
Vivendi SA says its net profit rose 21 percent in the first quarter thanks to strong earnings at its Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard unit and the integration of newly acquired Brazilian telecom operator GVT. Activision Blizzard is the video game producer behind titles such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Net profit in the January-to-March period rose to 598 million euros from 493 million euros a year earlier. Revenue was 6 percent higher at 6.9 billion euros.
■VIDEO GAMES
EA ends long losing skid
US videogame giant Electronic Arts (EA) posted a quarterly net profit on Tuesday, snapping its losing streak of 12 consecutive quarters in the red. The Redwood City, California-based company reported a fourth-quarter net profit of US$30 million, compared with a net loss of US$42 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was up 14 percent in the quarter that ended on March 31 at US$979 million, better than forecast by Wall Street analysts. EA said it expected revenue of between US$710 million and US$750 million in the current quarter.
■TELECOMS
Deutsche Telekom profit up
The German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom yesterday posted a jump in first-quarter net profit while sales slipped owing to weak results from its domestic market. Deutsche Telekom said net profit jumped to 767 million euros in the three-month period, compared with a loss of 1.12 billion euros in the first quarter of last year. But sales at Deutsche Telekom, the biggest European operator, slipped by 0.6 percent to 15.81 billion euros owing to a drop of 2.9 percent in Germany itself.
■AUTOMAKERS
Nissan reports annual profit
Japan’s No. 3 automaker, Nissan Motor, yesterday posted a return to the black, reporting an annual profit of ¥42.4 billion (US$460 million) from a previous loss of ¥233.7 billion. The company saw a much narrower fourth-quarter net loss of ¥11.6 billion in the three months ended March. Nissan forecast a 254 percent surge in profit to ¥150 billion for the fiscal year ending March next year.
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
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